Tag Archives: Princess Mary

Danish Opening of Parliament 2018

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The Danish Royal Family gathered together today in Copenhagen for the official opening of Parliament. This annual event is often occasion to debut new hats and today, there were three new beauties! Queen Margrethe led her family in a smart new ensemble in cornflower blue. Covered in the same silk crepe as her dress and tailored jacke, the matching brimless hat is simply trimmed with a stitched twist bow on the side. While I think I’d prefer the hat more if it was more of a calot on the back of Margrethe’s head instead of this helmet-like style, its a go-to shape for her and the colour is wonderful. We’ll undoubtedly see the ensemble many times again but I think it’s a good addition to her wardrobe.

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Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

Designer: likely Peter Falk Hansen
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Crown Princess Mary also wore a new hat, a black felt bumper design with piped crown and small feather spray on the side. I adore the scale and placement, which makes the hat look like a rounded pillbox from some angles. We’ve not seen Princess Mary in many bumper hats (I think this is the first) and this one is also a great addition to her millinery closet.



Designer: Susanne Juul
Previously Worn: This hat is new
Princess Marie wore the only repeated hat of the day, her navy calot with large side bow. This remains a great hat for petite Marie, whose hair styled to one side was a great counterpoint to the hats large bow.

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Designer: Whitely
Previously Worn: Oct 8, 2016; May 29, 2016; April 13, 2016; June 5, 2015; April 8, 2015

Princess Benedikte also wore a new hat, a wide brimmed chocolate felt design with simply shaped, rounded crown, trimmed with a felt hatband and autumnal-hued spray of feathers on the side. The combination of hat, chocolate wrap and orange dress is a good one and the ensemble has that effortless elegance we often associate with Princess Benedikte.

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Embed from Getty Images

Designer: unknown- maybe Susanne Juul
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Thoughts about this quartet of royal hats today in Copenhagen?


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💜 All eyes on elegant outfits of Danish royal ladies 😊 💜 • Queen Margretha II and her family attended opening of Parliament today. • Crown Prince Frederick, Crown Princess Mary, Prince Joachim, Princess Marie and Princess Benedikte, like every year, are accompanying the Queen. 💖 • • • • #queenmargretheofdenmark #queenmargrethe #crownprincefrederikofdenmark #crownprincefrederik #crownprincessmaryofdenmark #crownprincessmary #princejoachimofdenmark #princejoachim #princessmarieofdenmark #princessmarie #princessbenedikteofdenmark #princessbenedikte #danishroyalfamily #danishroyals #openingofparliament #princechristianofdenmark #princessisabellaofdenmark #princevincentofdenmark #princessjosephineofdenmark #princenikolaiofdenmark #princefelixofdenmark #princehenrikofdenmark #princessathenaofdenmark

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Photos from Getty and social media as indicated

Danish Royals Celebrate Flag Day

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With Queen Margrethe away for her summer cruise and crown Prince Frederik recovering from back surgery, attendance at this year’s annual Flag Day commemoration fell to remaining family members. Crown Princess Mary attended events in Copenhagen, laying a wreath at The Citadel, attending a commemoration service at Holmens Church and watching a parade at Thorvaldsens Plads at Christiansborg Castle. For these events, she repeated her black hat with felt crown and straw brim, simply trimmed with two feathers. It’s a restrained and elegant piece that paired beautifully with her floral dress.

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Det officielle Danmark med H.K.H. Kronprinsessen i spidsen markerer i dag flagdagen for Danmarks udsendte. Markeringen startede med en kranselæggelse ved monumentet på Kastellet og efterfølgende en mindegudstjeneste for Danmarks faldne i Holmens Kirke. Senere på eftermiddagen vil Hendes Kongelige Højhed deltage i en parade for årets udsendte på Thorvaldsens Plads ved Christiansborg Slot. Flagdagen bliver derudover højtideligholdt ved en række lokale arrangementer over hele landet. I Fredericia deltog D.K.H. Prins Joachim og Prinsesse Marie i markeringen af flagdagen. Først med et besøg på Ryes Kaserne og derefter en gudstjeneste i garnisonskirken Sct. Michaelis. Til slut deltog Prinsen og Prinsessen i en parade på Bülows Plads i Fredericia. 📸 Liselotte Sabroe, Ritzau Scanpix og Leon Lindholm ©️

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Designer: Susanne Juul
Previously Worn: Mar 21, 2017; Apr 25, 2015;  Oct 1, 2013; Sep 18, 2013; Oct 2, 2012; Apr 21, 2012; Jul 27, 2011; Apr 9, 2010; Oct 5, 2010; Sep 23, 2006; Sep 6, 2009; Sep 28, 2006; Sep 23, 2006

Prince Joachim and Princess Marie were in Fredericia where they attended a worship service in the garrison church Sct. Michaelis, laid a wreath and watched a parade at Bülows Square. Princess Marie repeated her black headpiece of ruffled black silk organdie. I’ve always liked the delicate way this design frames Marie’s face and the scale, which is as large as an average percher hat, is a very flattering one for her. Black hats can look very flat and one dimensional but this piece has a lovely sense of layered texture and movement while remaining perfectly appropriate for a memorial occasion.


Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: Mar 21, 2017; May 18, 2016; Sep 5, 2015; Apr 16, 2015;  Oct 1, 2013; Sep 5, 2013 
We’ve seen both these hats numerous times before but as they are both so good, I don’t mind taking another look. What do you think of this pair of hats yesterday in Denmark?


Photos from social media as indicated

Carrying Hats Into Royal Life

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 Reader Matthew recently asked, “Are there any occasions anyone can recall where a new royal bride wore hats for official appearances that she already owned in her non-royal life?”

Good question, Matthew! For the purpose of clarity, I’m going to consider “non-royal life” as everything before the royal engagement!

A quick survey of continental European royals has brought few examples, likely because hat wearing beyond casual or sporting designs in mainstream European culture is not common. Aside from Princess Mette-Marit repeating a navy knit ski hat, Sophia Helqvist borrowing one of Crown Princess Victoria’s hats for Princess Lilian’s funeral and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy borrowing one of Grand Duchess Maria Teresa’s hats for Princess Estelle’s christening in May 2012 (neither which has been repeated, so they don’t really count!), I’ve only come up with one such repeat:

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Embed from Getty Images

Black textured straw hat with lace trim worn Nov 5, 2002 to the Melbourne cup and again in Aarhus, Jul 26, 2004

In the UK, however, where hats are more commonly worn for weddings and other events (and several multi-year courtships saw royal girlfriends attend public events), I’ve come up with a few hats worn by royal brides both before their engagements and after their marriages:

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Tall brown felt hat with burgundy velvet trim worn Nov 20, 1997 and Jan 31, 2003

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Chocolate felt hat with faux fur brim from Lock & Co. worn Dec 8, 2002 and Mar 14, 2012

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Black felt Philip Treacy sidesweep with signature bow worn Dec 15, 2006 and Nov 12, 2017

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Ecru straw wide brimmed Philip Treacy design with feathers worn June 2, 2003 and June 9, 2005

OK magazine reported in this article last weekend that the Duchess of Sussex had brought her much worn Madewell fedora into her royal life, incorrectly citing its appearance at Wimbledon. The panama Meghan actually wore to Wimbledon was a finer quality hat from French millinery brand Maison Michel- the Virginie design.

I thus appeal to the marvelous millinery memories of you, dearest readers- can you remember a royal bride bringing a hat from her pre-engagement life forward into her royal one? I imagine these two Philip Treacy designs, worn in 2003 and 2004 by the then Camilla Parker Bowles, were repeated at some point…
Embed from Getty Images  June 1, 2004 in PT | Royal Hats
Photos from Getty as indicated; and Getty Images

Seeing Quadruple: Crown Princess Mary

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Royal HatsWhen Crown Princess Mary wore her pale beigey-pink calot to open a hospital last month,  we were able to catch a good look of the moulded shape of the hat, which sweeps to a gentle teardop point at the back. I suspect the hat came off the same block in Susanne Juul’s studio that was used for the black felt calot Mary has worn often since its introduction in late 2011.

  

Opening Slagelse Hospital on April 17, 2018; At the opening of parliament, October 6, 2015

  

In Slagelse on April 17, 2018; Celebrating Queen Margrethe’s 75th birthday, April 8, 2015

While many doubles of the same style in a royal’s millinery closet is perplexing, this double makes sense to me. When you find a hat in a neutral shade that works so well it becomes a go-to staple, why not add it in another neutral colour?

A deeper search through Mary’s millinery closet shows another, even earlier pair of calots, both in straw with side bow trim that I suspect also came off this block:

  

Visiting  Arlington National Cemetery, June 6, 2010; In Aarhus Sep 8, 2012

Crown Princess Mary’s hat wardrobe is not overly extensive so four hats off the same block is something of note. I find it fascinating, however, to see how the differing materials, colours and trims give each hat a distinctive look. Yes, the shapes are very similar but the finishing of each hat is unique enough to leave each standiing on their own. If you’re going to order the same shapes from the same designer, this, I think, is a master class in how to do it well.

What do you think of this quartet of hats?

Photo from  AFP; Splash News/Corbis; Claus Bech and Julian Parker via Getty;  Bauer Griffin; Edwin Veloo/PPE; 

Danish Crown Prince And Princess In Aarhus

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Crown Prince Frederick and Crown Princess Mary spent Frederik’s 50th birthday yesterday on a visit to Aarhus. Arriving into the port on the royal yacht Dannebrog, the couple embarked on a program that included an official welcome, a media production company, a gin distillery, and an international sailing center. For these events, Crown Princess Mary wore a white lace dress topped with a magenta headpiece.

The floral headpiece features a large cala lily with stamen filled center and long, slim veined leaves that circle around the back of Princess Mary’s head. The colour is marvelous against Mary’s dark hair and the scale of the piece gives it some significance without competing with the lace dress- a dress that might have gone too ‘garden party’ with a full hat. I also love the styling here, with a neutral purse and pumps and ruby centered earrings as the only link of deep pink. It’s balanced, nuanced, festive and really pretty.
May 23, 2018 in Susanne Juul | Royal Hats
May 23, 2018 in Susanne Juul | Royal Hats  May 23, 2018 in Susanne Juul | Royal Hats
May 23, 2018 in Susanne Juul | Royal Hats
Designer: Susanne Juul
Previously Worn: this headpiece is new
I’ve been critical of numerous headpieces and fascintors here in the past but I wonder if I’ve missed their potential to be good pieces for summery daytime engagements such as this. What do you think of this floral headpiece?
Special thanks to contributor and dear friend to Royal Hats, Inger Stokkink for graciously offering these wonderful photos  here to share. 
Photos from The Danish Monarchy as indicated; Miguel Mielgo and Inger Stokkink. Photos may not be replicated in any way without written permission from their owners.

Crown Princess Mary Opens Hospital

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Crown Princess Mary was in Slagelse this morning to officially open a new hospital. She follows the custom of wearing a hat for such openings and today was no different, although she surprised in a hat we’ve not seen in almost four years. In palest pink felt, the calot hat has the loveliest of curved sides and is trimmed with felt leaves and a spray of light feathers. The trim balances the subtle colour, which looks so great against Mary’s dark hair and the hat’s weight and material works well across several seasons, including the current transition to spring. It’s a pretty pretty with much potential to be a solid workhorse.

 

Designer: Susanne Juul
Previously Worn: May 12, 2014
Jump over to this gallery on the Danish Monarchy page for a view of the full ensemble (with some killer shoes). Thoughts about this hat’s second outing today?
Photos from AFP; and Claus Bech via Getty

This Week’s Extras

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Royal Hats

On March 28, an exhibition on Queen Margrethe’s clothes, gowns and hats will open at The Old Town Museum in Aarhus. I believe this is the first time her hats will be on exhibition- something some of you might want to catch if you are in Denmark between now and September 9.

Crown Princess Mary in a new black hat with wide, mushroom brim on Tuesday for the private funeral of a family friend.

Wonderful to see that Lady Frederick Windsor appears to have recovered from the horrible car accident she suffered last November. She was photographed looking very well at the Cheltenham races last week in a tall crowned, rose trimmed navy hat from Siggi Hats.

Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein in a cosy knit winter hat to welcome the Austrian President and first lady for a visit (Luxarazzi)

On Tuesday, members of the Imperial royal family attended a concert at the Imperial Palace performed by graduating students from several Tokyo university music programs (Imperial Family Of Japan)

Princess Ayako, Princess Akiko, Crown Princess Masako, Princess Kiko and Princess Hisako in hats 

The following new millinery designs caught my eye this week:

Lovely draped cocktail hat with floral trim in the freshest pale spring green from Italian brand Birdcage Hats
Such an interesting mix of feathered crown, straw brim and silk brim binding from Texas milliner Milli Starr
Large elevated side saucer hats with signature bright lycra loop trim from Irish milliner Aoife Harrison
The most perfect bow on this gold metallic straw cocktail hat from London milliner Fi Graham
Black peach bloom felt oversize fedora with beautifully shaped brim & rhinestone hatband from Stephen Jones
Such a pretty pale pink saucer bound in silk with roses & cut feathers from Yorkshire based Justine Bradley-Hill
Dark green button percher with amazing ultraviolet blue iridescent feathers from UK brand Mind Your Bonce

And from Irish milliner Maggie Mowbray, this stacked black and pink straw with veil and feathers in the most interesting shape that defies description. So creative without sacrificing wearability.

 Royal Hats

Sad to hear news that the King of Morocco and Princess Lalla Salma have divorced (Hola)

The Luxembourgish state visit to France included a surprising number of members of the Grand Ducal royal family (Luxarazzi)

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa also celebrated her birthday this week- these great new formal portraits were released in celebration of her birthday.

The Duchess of Wessex heard that a terminally ill young photographer wanted to take her portrait, so she invited him to do just that. The sitting and the resulting portrait are shown below. (Hello)


 

Photos from NTV and Jiji